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7 November, 2003
Hitchcock Mosaics
Alfred Hitchcock was born at 517 High Road, Leytonstone, in the east of London on 13th August 1899. To mark 100 years since this event, and to commemorate the director's link with the area, 17 mosaics have been installed in the entrance corridors of Leytonstone tube station. They were made in vitreous glass tesserae, using the reverse method, by Greenwich Mural Workshop. The work required some 80,000 tiles, took seven months to complete, and the final installation took place during April 2001
The image shown here is from "Psycho."
(via Reenhead)
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Router Spam
Don't you just
hate it when companies assume that they can do anything, in the name of
marketing? This time it's Belkin.
From The Register: Help! My Belkin router is spamming me.
The marketing geniuses at Belkin, the consumer networking vendor, have dreamed up a new form of spam - ads served to your desktop, by way of its wireless router.
Uh Clem. a former Belkin wireless router user, was perplexed to find machines on his network redirected to an ad for Belkin's new parental control system, following a software update.
Clem initially thought that the browser setting on the machine he downloaded the updated software had been changed. But when other machines displayed the same behaviour he realised his router was to blame. The router would grab a random HTTP connection every eight hours and redirect it to Belkin's (push) advertised web page.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Go To Heaven - Guaranteed!
Thanks to I'm Going To Heaven!, just about anyone can go to heaven. Assuming, of course, that they have enough money. How does it work?
If
you live (or at least try to live) a good and decent life, all you have to do is
purchase an individually numbered "I'm Going to Heaven" Certificate and you are
guaranteed a spot in Heaven (or equivalent) regardless of race, creed, color,
sex, nationality or hairstyle... or your money back!
Ah... but read the fine print:
Purchasing an "I'm Going to Heaven" Certificate does NOT entitle you to rob banks, start forest fires, mug little old ladies or embezzle millions of dollars from work.
Doh!
(via The Ultimate Insult)
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Google On The Desktop
From CNET: Google tests desktop search.
Search company Google is testing software that lets people navigate the Web without opening up an Internet browser, placing itself in a field that Microsoft has designs on--desktop search.
On Thursday, the Mountain View, Calif.-based search company debuted the Google Deskbar. The downloadable software for users of Microsoft's Windows operating system puts a Google search box in the desktop taskbar. Using the free tool, people can search for information on the Web while in a Word document or e-mail application. But instead of launching a browser, the Deskbar will display results in a small window in the lower right of the screen.
I haven't tried it, and I don't think I will. It so happens that I always have my Mozilla Firebird browser open. Ctrl+K takes me to the Google search box. I just can't see how using Google Deskbar could be any more efficient.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
It's Back!
I'm pleased to announce that, after a too-long hiatus, The Dullest Blog In The World is back. Today's entry:
I became aware that my spectacles were not sitting quite correctly on my nose. Using my hand I moved them slightly, thereby making them feel more comfortable. This adjustment completed I continued with my activities.
Check out the archives for some excellent dull entries from the past.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Art Contest For Kids
Not just any art contest, this is a Refrigerator Art Contest.
Each week, the producers of The Refrigerator Art Contest pick five pictures to display in "The Competition". From there on, it's up to the viewers. Votes are sent in from around the globe. If you are the lucky winner, your picture is posted at the front of our web site for one week where everyone can see it. After that, it's on to "The Hall Of Fame" where your picture gets hung on the 'frige for good.
The drawing shown here ("The House On The Hill") is from the Hall of Fame. It was done by 6-year old Ama, from Minot, ND.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Real Names
An extensive list of interesting names for places and stores. All are supposedly real. Just a few examples:
Adequate Electric Co.
Terry's House of Heartburn
Harry Little Pizza
It'll Do Motel
Bloodbath and Beyond (a gun shop)
Alkie's Liquor Store
Dehart's Bible and Tire Center
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Law For Kids
The Law For Kids, using comic strips and cartoons.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Get Inside Your Computer
From The Guardian: Smash the Windows.
As our society becomes ever more dependent on information technology, the gulf between those who understand computers and those who don't will get wider and wider. In 50 years, perhaps much less, the ability to read and write code will be as essential for professionals of every stripe as the ability to read and write a human language is today.
What about MS Windows?
This is yet another reason why Windows is such a dangerous commodity. It lulls us into the pernicious illusion that we can deal with computers without adapting to their logic. By presenting us with colourful screens and buttons for us to click on, Microsoft encourages us to believe that we can force computers to adapt entirely to our preferences for visual images, without having to adapt ourselves to their preference for text.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Butt Is It Art?
Stan Murmur, butt artist.
A
few years ago I had a painting assignment. I was told to find an organic item to
use as a stamp. The stamp was to be brought into class with a finished art
product. The art product had to incorporate a stamping or stampings of our
organic item...
It took me a couple of days to come up with an organic item. I finally decided to use my buttocks as a stamp.
Commissioned pieces start at $300.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
David Blaine Update
Apparently, David Blaine survived his 44 days in a box with no food. According to this CNN article:
Blaine
completed his 44-day starvation stunt October 19 and immediately went to a
private hospital for care. During the performance he drank only water for
sustenance and lost 54 pounds (24.5 kilograms).
"The dangerous part isn't the starving part," he said. "But the refeeding is where all the danger is -- the worst part."
His first bite of food, he said, was a handful of potato chips leftover from a friend's visit several days after emerging from the box.
His next stunt: The Dive of Death.
Illusionist David Blaine has announced that for his next stunt he will plunge hundreds of feet from a helicopter into a river.
Blaine said only a few people had survived a fall from such a height and admitted it could go "terribly wrong". He said he hoped to do the stunt on April 4 next year, his birthday, if he could prepare in time.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Suing Movie Theaters
Welcome to the Movie Theater Lawsuit Web Site.
Thank you for supporting us. We received over 20,000 hits to this web site and over 700 emails in the first week following the announcement of our lawsuit. Obviously, we have struck a chord with captive audience members who don't want to be barraged with advertisements.
(via Magnetbox)
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Vitamin Q
Vitamin Q is a blog by Roddy Lumsden, a puzzle writer and poet who lives in England.
This blog exists as a place where I can post lists, curiosities and fragments which please me as a lover of trivia, lists, reference.
As an example of the kind of stuff he publishes, here are a dozen nicknames for a moustache:
1. lip tickler
2. soup strainer
3. 'stache
4. lip spinach
5. cookie duster
6. muzzy
7. upper lip plumage
8. misplaced eyebrow
9. dot and dash
10. mouser
11. tash
12. face fungus
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Koit Funny Stuff
Koit contributes lots of stuff to b3ta.com. Here's a link to 12 pages of his images. Many of them are very clever animated GIFs.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Top-Ten Newspapers
Editor & Publisher lists the top-ten daily newspapers in the U.S. (by circulation) They are:
1. USA Today
2. The Wall Street Journal
3. The New York Times
4. Los Angeles Times
5. The Washington Post
6. Daily News, New York
7. New York Post
8. Chicago Tribune
9. Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
10. Houston Chronicle
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Scribbler
Scribbler is a new Flash app from zefrank.com. Use your mouse to make a simple line drawing. Then let Scribbler go to work on it.
The drawing below is from the Scribbler gallery.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Andre The Giant
The official site of
Andre the Giant -- the eighth wonder
of the world.
At 7'4" and 500 pounds, Andre the Giant could have been famous for his size alone. His drive, talent and ambition, however, proved to be as big as Andre himself, and the wrestler became legendary for his achievements in and out of the ring.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Resurrection Services
A great service from Arlington Wolfe Consulting: Resurrection Services.
Are you concerned about providing for your family if the unthinkable happens? Worried that life insurance isn't enough?
Arlington Wolfe Resurrection Services offers a wide range of resurrection products designed to cater to your needs. We can bring you back to life for a few days so that you can tidy up your affairs and update your will, or for long enough to see your kids grow up and enjoy your retirement.
The Tidy-Up Special is just one of many resurrection services offered.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Microsoft Sparkle
From eWeek: Microsoft Hopes to Smother Flash with 'Sparkle'.
Watch out, Macromedia. Here comes Microsoft "Sparkle." According to press reports, Sparkle is an animation toolset that will likely emerge as part of the Longhorn wave of products/technologies. Some are describing Sparkle as a Macromedia "Flash killer."
No comment.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Church Sign Generator
Use the Church Sign Generator to send a message to your flock. Enter up to four lines of text, and it appears on a church sign.
(via Metafilter)
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Some Good News
Two new items that fall into the "good news" category.
The Federal Trade Commission Thursday took action against a company that it alleges was exploiting a security hole in Microsoft's Messenger Service utility to send full-screen pop-up ads to consumers advertising software that would block the very same pop-up ads.
At the FTC's request, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Maryland issued a temporary restraining order against D Squared Solutions LLC, and its officers, Anish Dhingra and Jeffrey Davis, blocking them from continuing their business practices. The FTC plans to seek further legal action against the defendants, including recovering any revenue the company earned from selling its software.
Canadian Man Charged With E-mail Hoax
Like many other e-mail recipients, Heide Evans received numerous messages purporting to be from Nigeria and promising millions of dollars.
Unlike others who simply delete the e-mails, Ms. Evans said she led the U.S. Secret Service and Bethel police to Nicholas Horvath-Howard, 24, of Toronto, who met her hoping to receive a reward.
Posted on 7 November, 2003
Drumming
Drag-and-drop drumming. This is your chance to drive your office mates crazy. Make sure you turn the volume up real loud.
Posted on 7 November, 2003